


strawberry milk [a jeongcheol fanfic]

by hiddlewiddles



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band), SEVENTEEN - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Grocery Store, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Crush, Jeonghan, M/M, Seventeen - Freeform, jeongcheol - Freeform, kpop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-10-01 02:44:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17235854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiddlewiddles/pseuds/hiddlewiddles
Summary: ◦two boys are brought together by the stress of finals. they both want the same thing, but there's only one left. will it lead to more stress, or maybe something sweet?◦[this is a fairly short fic, a spur of the moment idea that i just ran with]





	1. [study break]

**Author's Note:**

> crossposted from wattpad!  
> follow me on twitter: @jeonghammie  
> hope you guys enjoy! this is the first fanfiction i've posted on here!

He read that one line from his notes for the 10th time so far and the information just wasn't sticking. No matter how many keywords he attempted to associate with it, or silly rhymes his study skills professor had suggested to him, it still made no sense.

It's like his brain completely shut off during lecture, and the only thing he accomplished was copying the notes word for word. He didn't stop and think about asking for clarification, which he usually did, but finals week was coming in a few days, and the professors seemed just as unprepared as the students. His teacher for this particular class, world civ 2, was a favorite among students and was usually laid back, but that personality led to the class being behind on almost 2 weeks of work which inevitably meant they would have to cram which equaled to sleepless nights fueled by caffeine and other sugar-rich concoctions.

The aura of stress filled the dorms to the brim, the whole campus was affected, to be honest, and wherever Jeonghan went he could feel its presence. His usual choice was the 5th floor of the library where complete silence was mandatory, but around this time it would be packed. Another option was to study outside, but the quad was filled with students lying on the grass which equals too much commotion for his liking. The cafeteria was out of the question, so his dorm was the only somewhat bearable option.

But after locking himself in there for, going on 10 hours which is probably a new record, he started to catch a case of cabin fever. The fact that the dorms were about half the size of his room back home made the feeling of the walls enclosing him even more strong. When he saw the size of the place on the campus tour, that's when he knew he had to have a single.

His hand found the thermos, and upon shaking it he realized it was empty, which prompted his eyes to look towards his coffee pot which was now, tragically, empty as well.

'Out of fuel' he thought.

He wasn't too upset because he needed a reason to leave his room and some fresh air along with contemplation would do him well at this moment. And human interaction. That's nice sometimes.

Preparing to leave, Jeonghan tossed his mountain of notes to the end of his bed, snatched up his wallet, threw on his coat, and was about to walk out the door when he decided to check his fridge to see if he needed to stock up on anything else.

His eyes scanned the shelves and everything seemed to be all good until his eyes landed on the empty corner of the fridge.

'No more milk...'

One of Jeonghan's favorite childhood drinks was strawberry milk, and since he was out he felt that it would be the perfect reward to himself for all the studying he had been doing for the past 12 or so hours. The idea of this put more pep in his step, and he set off for the convenience store. 


	2. [distracted]

Once again, Seungcheol's study group had turned into 75 percent goofing off, 15 percent arguing, and maybe 10 percent studying, if he was lucky. All of his roommates were younger than him and he often felt like he was taking care of 3 rowdy kids.

It all started when Vernon asked if he could turn on some "soothing music".

"I'll turn it down low I swear; it's just boring as hell sitting in silence. Please?"

Cheol rolled his eyes but nodded without looking up from his paper.

The music gradually got louder and ended up being a complete distraction for Vernon and Mingyu in particular. Wonwoo didn't necessarily join in on their antics, but did make fun of them and occasionally told them to shut up, which ironically added to the noise.

"Wonwoo, you need to loosen up some!" Mingyu grabbed the boy's wrist which resulted in a small shriek from him as he scrambled on his feet, hitting Mingyu, and Vernon laughing uncontrollably at the scene.

At this point, all of their notes were abandoned on the floor, and the dorm was in complete dismay. Cheol unintentionally made mental notes of chores that needed to be done in addition to the studying that was being neglected. their beds weren't made up and there would be an inspection soon, the trash was starting to overflow in the bin, laundry needed to be done, clothes were everywhere. it was total chaos.

The music was suddenly interrupted by one of Vernon's ringtones, which caused a visual flush to take over his face.

'Seungkwan.' Cheol thought to himself. they really wouldn't get anything done now.

Mingyu made a teasing 'oooooh' sound, which made Vernon even redder, and Wonwoo playfully smacked the back of the taller boy's head.

"Leave the kid alone we all have crushes..."

Mingyu burst out in laughter, which must have been contagious because Wonwoo's stern expression finally cracked into a cheeky smile, proud of his remark.

Vernon, visually embarrassed by the boys, unplugged the aux cord from his cell and ran into his room, slamming the door shut behind him. Cheol could hear him giggling and whispering to his "friend", and no matter how frustrated he was at the moment, he couldn't help but feel happy for him. It had been a while since he experienced the giddiness of having a crush or the stability of having a relationship...but finals week wasn't the time to be thinking of that. The only thing on his mind was the enormous amount of notes he needed to memorize for his exams on Monday.

'Focus', Cheol thought.

He had to get out of this dorm and take a break from his roommates and their...slacking. It was starting to rub off on him now, he had found himself laughing at Mingyu and Wonwoo bickering temporarily distracted from his task at hand.

He scooped up his notecards and decided that he would find a quiet place somewhere on this campus to get at least 10 minutes of studying in. Considering it was almost midnight, most places would be closed by now... Everything except for the convenience store and cafe.

His mouth started to water at the idea of possibly getting something sweet, but what would he get?

A strawberry milk always lifted his spirits... but some pie from the coffee shop also sounded amazing.

Maybe he would get both. He deserved it.

After wrapping himself up in his coat and plopping a beanie on his head, he headed towards the door. He yelled out an "I'm going out, don't wait up for me", which was, understandably, unreciprocated by any of the boys.


	3. [the journey]

Jeonghan wanted to kick himself for not grabbing a scarf because the wind chill was assaulting his neck. He wasn't about to walk all the way back, so he just prayed that he wouldn't catch a cold. The clinic wasn't particularly helpful and though he was a "grown man" he still hated to call the doctor's office to make appointments.

'Whatever,' he thought, and continued on his way, lifting his collar in an attempt to somewhat shield his frozen neck. He recited notes in his head, not wanting to waste a waking moment by not studying.

He honestly felt like all he ever did was study. He desperately needed to get out more, but for now, this would have to do. Jeonghan often worried about making friends when he first arrived at this school, and though it did take a while, he finally met a few people he could connect with. Of course, his life-long best friend, Joshua, just HAD to attend another university, so he didn't have him to rely on as much anymore. 

Seungkwan and Dokyeom were some of the best people that could have come into his life at the time. They were more extroverted than he was and often pushed him to do things he normally wouldn't do if it were totally up to him. Since he was older than them, he also enjoyed the feeling of being an "older brother" to them. Plus, they introduced him to many of their friends as well. 

Sadly, finals caused a big separation between a lot of students, because everyone was doing their own thing when it came to studying. Sure, there were some people doing study groups, but situations like that almost always overwhelmed Jeonghan. He preferred studying on his own terms. And he had definitely been doing way too much of it lately.

He read in some article that giving yourself small rewards for personal accomplishments can be super fulfilling, and his mind went back to the milk he was about to get. Based on all of the studying he had been doing for the past few days, he should buy himself 100 bottles of strawberry milk. 

The wind began to blow once more and another dreadful chill went through his body. He looked forward to getting coffee to warm himself up, and more milk to make him feel like a kid again. 

After a few more steps through the treacherous weather conditions, he was finally facing the store. The rich smell of the coffee beans seemed to heat up the frostbitten air. 

He beelined to the back of the store to the refrigerators, to get that milk, which was his top priority at the moment. If they had a lot in stock, he planned on buying them all. Selfish? Maybe. But he did deserve it. 

When he saw the milk section, all of the air was let out of him. They had tons of bottles of every flavor, except for what he wanted. Desperation was setting in. He checked behind the vanillas and noticed that someone had put a single strawberry milk in the very back of the fridge. Jeonghan exhaled, quickly swiping up the bottle. Just for good measure, he decided to check the chocolate and banana milk as well, just in case there might be another lone strawberry.

He heard footsteps coming down the aisle he was on, but he ignored whoever it was. Then he noticed they seemed to have stopped right next to him.


	4. [a meeting]

The cafe was booming with life, and Cheol wasn't particularly surprised. He supposed most people had the same idea that he did. Garland and lights adorned the counters and Santa hats sat atop the baristas' heads, reminding him that once he got these few exams over, he could go home to his family. He was fond of this place because, though it wasn't identical, it reminded him of a coffee shop back at home. The ambiance made him feel like he was back in his old familiar town, just a few blocks away from friends and family. Maybe everyone else had some sort of connection to this place too. The blinding lights of the adjoined convenience store reminded him about that milk he was supposed to get, guiding him in the direction.

He greeted the cashier with a nod and proceeded to the back of the store to the refrigerated section. Passing a lot of prepackaged meals made his mouth water, but that wasn't exactly in his budget at the moment. He turned the corner of the last aisle. Much to his dismay, he saw someone else standing in the exact spot that he was planning on heading towards. And it looked like they were about to take the last of the strawberry flavor. 

'Just my luck,' Cheol thought. 

He exhaled loudly, in an attempt to get the milk thief to take notice, and it seemed to work. 

The brunette glanced up at him, with a confused look, while holding the precious bottle of milk. Seungcheol was dumbfounded for a slight moment because when their eyes met he realized the boy was actually really attractive. 

"Hey..?" he started, "Is there a problem?" 

His question made Cheol switch his focus back to the awkward situation he was currently getting himself into. Initially, he was planning on almost fighting to the death for the milk, but now he felt shy and intimidated. 

"Oh, I'm sorry," he stammered out, "it's just that I was about to get that exact same milk as you." 

The brunette boy smiled warmly, sympathy filling his eyes as he looked down at the bottle in his hand. 

"This is one of my favorite drinks of all time, I don't know if I can part with it," he chuckled. 

Seungcheol racked his brain to think of a clever reply. 

"Well, I guess we have something in common," Cheol began, "how about we make a deal?"

An eyebrow raise was accompanied by arms being crossed by the brunette boy. He seemed interested enough. 

Seungcheol never really considered himself to be "smooth" when it came to flirting or trying to charm people, but he decided that he would shoot his shot because 1. he wanted that milk and 2. this guy was really cute and in this short interaction he came to the realization that he wanted to get to know him. Plus, it's a big campus. If he got rejected, he might not ever see him again anyway.

"I'm listening," stated the other boy, breaking the silence. 

Seungcheol cleared his throat.

"Okay so, if I were to buy you a dessert from the cafe and maybe a coffee, could we possibly split the drink?"

He chuckled again but didn't say anything. Seungcheol thought he might have even seen a slight blush come over the guy's face. Or maybe he was seeing things. 

"Come on, I'm desperate here. I'm a grown man, negotiating with you over a bottle of milk!" he pleaded. 

"Okay," the boy replied, "You're lucky it's almost the holidays." he finished with a cheeky smirk.

He brushed passed Seungcheol, seemingly heading towards the checkout. Seungcheol just stood there, in shock that his impromptu plan worked. He was intrigued by how nonchalant he seemed; the boy had a coolness and an aura of mystery about himself that drew him in. 

The head of brown hair whipped around when he reached the end of the aisle and he said, "Well, are you coming or what? I really want that coffee and dessert you promised me."

Seungcheol scrambled to catch up with him. 

This boy was probably the most interesting person he had met on campus thus far.


End file.
